Old noobie buys a KJ

[tommudd]

Tomm, what's your preferred place to buy OME parts?

I used to use JBA for almost all, but have also used ALLJs, ( www.boulderbars.com ) also OK4WD.com, Summit Racing to name a few
Teraflex for front bumpstops have just dealt directly with them
Bilstein shocks , either www.shockwarehouse.com, or just search parts number on amazon, etc

TOM

 

[tommudd]

Moved ya

 

[sleazy rider]

Moved ya

Thanks, just makes more sense now that I’ve looked around a bit.

 

[sleazy rider]

Well, tommudd, I decided to ship the suspension replacement components back to RockAuto and wait a month or two. In January/February, I'll order the full OME kit and four premium bump stops. *sigh* As you so eloquently stated, it only hurts once if you do it right. This one only cost me ~$20 shipping back to RockAuto.

Go ahead, laugh. I am.

--Tom also

 

[tommudd]

You only need 2 front Teraflex bumpstops
rear you use 2 hockey pucks per side bolted down to lower spring perch
as far as getting the full OME kit, the supplied rear shocks that come with the kit are basically stock length, not sure why but that is the way they ship them, OME 132Ls are what you need but getting harder to find
I run Bilstein 24-185660s on the 03 with 2.5 inches of lift

 

[sleazy rider]

Question I’ve been mulling on the OME springs? Heavy springs get how much lift vs medium? Their site says all are 1.5” left? Same length, but thicker wire for the coils to handle more weight like an ARB bumper?

 

[tommudd]

Question I’ve been mulling on the OME springs? Heavy springs get how much lift vs medium? Their site says all are 1.5” left? Same length, but thicker wire for the coils to handle more weight like an ARB bumper?

The 1.5 lift that is noted is for advertising only.
Since OME / ARB are manufactured in Australia and they have certain insurance laws as far as height, you get 1.5 advertised
The 927s are rated at 400 lb and give you 2.5 inches of lift, when combined with the 948 rears it will sit level
The 926s are rated at 375 lb and give about 1.75 or so in the end when settled down
925s generally give about 1-1.25 inches of lift and are rated at 350 lb , right at what the KJ should of had from the factory
These measurement's are all over that of new stock height which after April 12,2002 was 19 inches measuring from middle of the wheel to bottom of flare ( left front/level ground )

For ARB bumper and winch we like to use the OME 790s, do a lot better job and rated at 500 lb
I have ran both the 927s and 790s on the 04, with an ARB bumper but no winch at the time
The 927s did lose some height ( but not much ) over the next 100,000 miles of course , the 790s were then tried for about 50,000 before I went to the JBA adjustable coilovers up front

 

[sleazy rider]

Thanks. I’m gonna stow that info ina pdf on my desktop for future reference.

In other news, the 235 tires I ordered were out of stock. Discount Tire bumped me up to a 245 at no extra charge.

 

[tommudd]

The OME springs 925s have a free height of 385 and 10.77 turns of the coil
926s have 392 free height and 10.77 turns of the coil
927s have a free height of 394 and 10.3 number of turns but are stronger spring to give lift and hold more weight

 

[tommudd]

Thanks. I’m gonna stow that info ina pdf on my desktop for future reference.

In other news, the 235 tires I ordered were out of stock. Discount Tire bumped me up to a 245 at no extra charge.

245 what
70/75 or ?? lots of difference
if suspension is sagged then 245-75-16 will more than likely rub in front when turning/ bumps etc
plus not knowing specs on wheels will make a huge difference

 

[sleazy rider]

245/70R16. Wheels are stock offset of 38 and 16x7”

 

[sleazy rider]

Ignore the rusted rockers. That's a spring project when it's warm enough to work outdoors. Driving impression with just fresh rubber with tread is much improved.

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[sleazy rider]

Quick note to self - 183k miles on a 2002 KJ with unknown suspension state.

LF center of hub to fender flare - 18.5
RF center of hub to fender flare - 17.75
LR center of hub to fender flare - 19
RR center of hub to fender flare - 19.5

 

[tommudd]

Quick note to self - 183k miles on a 2002 KJ with unknown suspension state.

LF center of hub to fender flare - 18.5
RF center of hub to fender flare - 17.75
LR center of hub to fender flare - 19
RR center of hub to fender flare - 19.5

really not that bad for that mileage
I had an 07 come in with 78-79,000 that was 17.5 on right side and 17.0 on the left side
Guy just bought it and wondered why it made strange noises up front
Both shocks blown, springs were stacked , it was bad
We ordered up an OME lift with Bilstein shocks, did a few other things to get him 3 inches of lift, he picked up the wheels and had new tires put on while I was doing the lift
Got it all done, took it for a drive, got back and he opened the door and fell out!
Since we had " raised it" about 7 inches , he wasn't used to stepping " down " when he got out ! LOL

 

[sleazy rider]

really not that bad for that mileage
I had an 07 come in with 78-79,000 that was 17.5 on right side and 17.0 on the left side
Guy just bought it and wondered why it made strange noises up front
Both shocks blown, springs were stacked , it was bad
We ordered up an OME lift with Bilstein shocks, did a few other things to get him 3 inches of lift, he picked up the wheels and had new tires put on while I was doing the lift
Got it all done, took it for a drive, got back and he opened the door and fell out!
Since we had " raised it" about 7 inches , he wasn't used to stepping " down " when he got out ! LOL

Steering is tight and it doesn't wander at all. I take it that the OME kit gets it up in the 22" hub to bottom of wheel well neighborhood?

 

[sleazy rider]

Today was swap out the oil pressure sensor day because an unknown somone had snapped it off. I went out to start work and every bleeding flashlight in my big box was dead and all the stockpile of batteries was gone. Time for a HF restock run. I want a set of steel car ramps too.

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[sleazy rider]

Well, that was fun. When I bought this one, the oil pressure light was on. Fumbling around under the hood to figure it out, some hamfisted hack had broken the plastic plug part of the sender off the brass threaded base. Of course, the plastic part was still in the socket too. Nearly an hour digging around and fiddle ********* trying to get the sensor back into the threaded hole blind was sooooo much fun. But, old age and cussedness wins out over a difficult install. Fired up the truck, no oil light and best of all? No leaks from the sender either!

10 minutes scrubbing grease off the forearms above the rubber gloves ended my fun for the day. :lol:

(I found two AA batteries and have exactly one light that uses them!)

 

[sleazy rider]

Had the KJ in the garage overnight. Turned my heater on this morning in anticipation of the interior steam cleaning. All those stains I mentioned? Came right out! The floor mats were threadbare in front, so I stuffed the OEM mats into the Transit Connect and pulled the Motor Trend rubber mats out. They slid right in with a minor trimming.

This afternoon, the radio console got dismantled in anticipation of an Amazon delivery. My aftermarket JVC DD from the van is going in to add Sirius radio for those upcoming far flung adventures to the grocery store and gas station. Gonna pay someone to install the amp & dual 10" subwoofer box in the cargo area for some thumping good times.

 

[tommudd]

Steering is tight and it doesn't wander at all. I take it that the OME kit gets it up in the 22" hub to bottom of wheel well neighborhood?

OME will get the KJ to 21.5 inches of lift ( 2.5 inches of lift over new stock )
That is after alignment and a few miles

 

[tommudd]

2.5 inches of JBA adjustable coilover lift, 265-70-16s , 4.10s, DTTs front and rear etc this is my 03 with a heavily loaded trailer of KJ parts

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